Many, many questions about duck egg fertility

[saxonyduck]

We're trying to make the best of a just horrible situation. We had three Saxony ducks and the two males were killed by predators Thursday night. Now that we're starting to be able to think through the cloud of grief we're feeling for the loss of our really fabulous boys it just occurred to us that maybe we could incubate the eggs that our female lays.

So here are the questions:

1) Are eggs still hatchable after being the fridge? I have about her last 8 days of eggs prior to the boys dying still in the fridge. BTW - she has only missed 10 days of laying in the past 14 months. Saxonys are evidently crazy non-stop layers.

2) How long after the last mating (if successful - they didn't look very coordinated despite over a year of practice) will she produce fertile eggs? So could the eggs she's laid since they died still be fertile?

3) Until I get an incubator arranged should I keep the eggs in the fridg or leave at room temperature?


Thank you. I know we'll never get the boys back but maybe their progeny would be as smart and funny as they were......

 

[geosheets]

Quote:
Sorry about your loss. Obviously there are a lot of variables to the answers of your above questions... I would certainly try to incubate some of her eggs if it were me.

 

[CityChicker]

Oh, no! I'm sorry about your babies. Definitely give it a go with the eggs. The hens can still continue to produce fertile eggs for several days after mating. Conventional wisdom seems to be upwards of a month. Likewise, duck eggs can be stored for comparatively long periods of time and still be hatchable, especially if kept in a semi-cool area. You should also turn them a couple times a day as you would if they were incubating. Hatchability begins to drop at 7-10 days after laying, but I have had month old eggs still be viable (usually the larger breeds, the bantam breeds seem to not last as long). I would store them in a cool area like a basement. If that is not possible, room temperature is probably okay too. I would not leave them in the fridge though. Good Luck!

 

[saxonyduck]

Thank you! I just took 12 of them (I had more than I thought) out of the fridge and marked them with x's and laid them in a box with a towel. I think the ones that have been in the fridge for weeks without being turned are probably not going to work. But she's still laying so the egg from tomorrow and the next day I'll keep out of the fridge.

I'm working on getting an incubator - trying to get in touch with the person who loaned me the one that hatched them the first time around!